[Forward note: my frustrations when dealing with the locals has reached a point where I could not resist from writing this letter to the president. One may invest heavily into faster internet or infrastructure, for faster transport, but if the people continue to move slower than snails, it can be a wasted investment.]
Dear Mr. President Duterte, I have been following you closely and would like to compliment you on a lot of your decisions. I am a businessman and for me I see as very good your desire to speed up the internet and invest into infrastructure. In any case, I have one small suggestion which I think could have a great positive effect in your country. I've been here for two years now and must say that it can be incredibly frustrating the pace things can take to get done here. If someone wants to make a phone and needs a keyboard, the person making the keyboard waits for the person making the keys, and the person to make the keys waits for the person who makes the numbers, and you can see by this chain that if each person took forever to do their small part, it would take forever times forever before the phone is made, probably well after it has already become obsolete technology. I believe this may be one of the biggest reasons your country is poor. Look at Singapore. They do not have fish practically jumping out of the water into their mouths for free. They have no resources like this country is rich in, yet it is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Their only resource is their hands, and quick and honest work. They do not constantly try to increase their price every time you go to their store. And I believe the reason people are so incredibly slow here is precisely because your country is so full of resources and fish jumping out of the water. It is paradise here and people have naturally developed the mentality: "There is always tomorrow". I organise boat tours, one of my businesses, and it is often a struggle to explain to the boatmen that these tourists have paid a lot of money to fly all the way out here to enjoy this beautiful paradise for a short while, and pay to stay in expensive hotels etc., so when they show up on time to start their boat tour at 8am and stand around waiting for at least an hour for the boatman to eventually lazily show up, you can understand that they can get upset, because their limited vacation time is being eaten away by someone who is used to it and gets to live here all the time. Therefore, my suggestion is the following. As president of a country where such a high percentage of people support you and agree with you, I believe it can have a great effect just to explain something like this to your people: "Do not think there is always tomorrow to do a job, because tomorrow will come and again you might say 'there is always tomorrow'. And one tomorrow leads to the next and soon enough weeks, months or even more time may have passed by before you finally did that one little job, which you had to do anyway. So postponing it does not make it go away, and if everyone delays their little job, it can practically bring the country down to a grinding halt. But no, if we change our way of thinking and do a job not only today but NOW, you will see how much faster as a nation we can accomplish anything." And not only say this a few times as your plea to the nation, saying that you (as do I) have great faith in this nation's abilities, but to get some ads on tv or something to get this message across. People can still live in their paradise and everything can be the same, except things would get done much faster. I believe you have the same thoughts as I do that the Philippines is poised to enter the world scene with a good bang. I am convinced it is an up and coming tourist hotspot. I lived in Thailand for two years and the Philippines absolutely kicks butt compared to Thailand. People just need to learn to hustle a little bit and not be so absolutely lazy and slow about everything. It is just a small adjustment in people's mentality. They do not need to sweat and go crazy, simply go through the motions and get it done now and not later. Thank you for your time and keep up the good work Mr. President, Karel
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I give 5 stars because they actually helped me to arrange the tour to Balabac in last minute. However, because the money wired through the local bank in my country took time to be processed, so i missed the boat due to peak season as many people paid before my money was received by the tour guide.As most of people usually feel, once your money has been transferred out to someone you do not know, you probably frustrated that your money would not be able to be refunded.But not in my experience. I dont need to be worry, the owner refunded me the money he has received (minus the bank fees). He promised to refund me and he did it. It was around 18.700 Pesos.So, eventhough i didn't manage to go with the tour, but i am really satisfied with their legitimate and great business practice. Hopefully, people will try their services and not worry about their legit business!Thanks a lot!
The most wonderful experience from booking to beach! Karel and Mel were so fast and responsive to my very last minute trip over the holidays. We booked a private boat for two and could not have been happier with our four day trip! We didn’t think about anything other than snorkeling the entire time. Linda, our captain, cooked wonderful meals and took us to totally empty beautiful beaches. We loved staying the night in Pical especially! Wonderful to experience the Philippines this way! Will come back again and would recommend to anyone!
We booked the 3 day 2 night expedition, from Coron to Sibaltan.First of all the booking part was really simple. I organized this trip to the Philippines last minute for my family (my parents and my uncles) but Karel answered all my questions very quickly and really made everything easier for me. It was an incredible experience. Albert, our tour leader, is a wonderful guy, always smiling and ready to help us. They assisted us in everything and really took care of making everything go smoothly. The accommodation on the islands is as spartan as you expect but the location of each hut alone is worth the trip. The wonder of nature was then added to the goodness of cuisine. It's really difficult to argue how you can cook all that goodness on a boat.If you are looking for an authentic experience, in contact with nature, off the beaten track, this company's private expedition is certainly for you.
What an unforgettable experience! We did a two night (3 day) island hopping tour from Sibaltan to Coron. Everything was so well organized and the boat crew were amazing and really made sure we had a great time. The accommodation was rustic, but added to the authentic experience of the Philippines. Karel always responded to any queries we had promptly. Our boatman, Albert, was the most amazing chef and we enjoyed every meal. The crew taught the kids how to fish with a line which was their highlight of the trip. They took us to the most unbelievable snorkelling spots along the way. Would highly recommend this trip.
This is a must to do!!Super ultimate tour is the best with Kayangan and barracuda lake, twin lagoons (my favorite), coral garden (blue fabulous coral) were the best. It’s really worth it to pay for private tour (3500 to 4000 PHP). You will also have to pay for entrance fees (150 to 200PHP by location) and eventually shopping at the market - must do (count 300 for 2 for fish, pork, fruits and vegetables, water).
I was looking for a personalized excursion to the stunning Bacuit Gulf.Based on the comments, I contacted Mel.Very responsive, very efficient and perfect organization.The on-board staff were very friendly and very helpful.And I'm not even talking about the meal on board...a marvel.In all fairness, this excursion will remain an excellent memory and I cannot recommend Mel and his team highly enough.A big thank-you.
This tour went well above all our expectations! I couldn't recommend this enough! The boat crew, captain and tour guide were nothing but amazing, everyone was so kind, helpful and friendly. The crew knew the best spots to visit that weren't overcrowded with tourists, 3 times we were lucky enough to have whole islands to ourselves! It was my partner's birthday while away and everything went above and beyond, bonfire, cake, birthday card, singing and celebrating with us.If you love camping this is definitely a tout you should do, it has been the highlight of our trip!!
Coron is the best place i have ever seen.. picturesque. Beautiful. Peaceful
We booked a 4 days/3 nights private boat trip from Coron to Sibaltan. The organization went very well from the beginning, the owner answered to all my questions, and we were able to choose which islands to visit and where to sleep. The first night we slept in a bungalow in Banana Island, the second we camped in Araw beach and the last we slept in a seafront bungalow builded on a tree in Pical on Iloc Island.The islands in that area are the most beautiful islands I have ever seen, with clear water, lots of coral reef and fishes to see, white sand and almost deserted. The crew was very friendly and polite and they organize every single meal and for camping they give you a tent which was just perfect! This was our highlight in our 2 weeks in the Philippines and I wish I had booked a longer trip. A private trip gives you the freedom to decide where and when to go.
We are a family operation managing private custom boat tours in the beautiful Palawan area, and are happy to help travelers with their plans through the country, having traveled a lot of it ourselves and planning to visit it all.
The President is exerting all effort all the way to make this nation great again. Hope the new leadership will double its effort to modernize its facilities to triple tourist arrivals. the country has much to offer other brands than Thailand especially the Philippines is an English speaking country. I am based overseas, and I am proud of the new Philippines !